Page 64 of Saint

The moment the thought went through his head, their little ledge began to shake.

No, no, no.Tightening his arms around her, he looked up just as a rope dropped down from above.

“Hurry up!” Ryland yelled. “This whole place is about to come down!”

Saint needed zero encouragement. Grabbing the end, he wrapped the rope around his and Mia’s waists and gave a sharp tug. And just in time. The slab beneath them cracked, broke into a million pieces, and dropped into the blackness. Mia screamed as they began to fall, but then the rope went taut, holding them up above the yawning darkness below.

As they began to rise up, they clung to each other tightly.

“Almost there,” he whispered in her ear.

It was a relief to be pulled over the edge, but there wasn’t a moment to spare. Saint quickly untied them and he grabbed Mia’s hand.

“This way!” Inda directed, taking off down the hallway.

Everything around them shook and groaned, and the ceiling split in various places, collapsing inwards.

“Hurry! Hurry up!” Ryland yelled.

Swooping Mia up into his arms, Saint increased his speed and ignored the crumbling bunker, doing his best to dodge pitfalls and raining debris. Even though it had been a very long time since he’d put any stock in magic, he sent up a wish—that they made it out alive.

???

Burying her face against Nik’s strong shoulder, Mia held on for dear life as he raced forward, jumping over obstacles and evading anything that might slow them down. It felt like the entire mountain was collapsing, crashing in on itself, and she sent up a fervent wish that they didn’t go down with it, crushed beneath endless tons of rubble.

“Fuck!” Ryland swore and they all skidded to a halt. A large collapse blocked the exit.

“Now what?” Nik growled, shifting Mia in his arms.

Mia’s attention moved to a jagged hole above them. “There!” she pointed out. The opening was narrow, but she was willing to bet they’d all fit.

“She’s right,” Nik said. “Let’s climb out of this fucker.”

“Boost me up, boys,” Inda declared.

Nik pressed a hard kiss against Mia’s lips and set her down. Shivering already, preparing herself for the arctic blast that would soon hit her, Mia watched as Nik and Ryland lifted Inda straight up. The nimble woman grabbed onto a hold and easily climbed up, making it look like a cake walk.

“She’s a damn goat,” Nik grunted, then reached for Mia. “C’mon, kitten, you’re next.”

The men hoisted her straight up and Inda helped pull her out and into a blinding white swirl of snow. Unhooking the rope at her curvy waist, Inda dropped part of it down and nodded for Mia to grab ahold of it, too.

“Help me get our boys up,” Inda said, tossing the end of the rope to Mia who quickly wrapped it around herself and anchored her feet in the snow.

Ryland climbed out first, but Mia’s nerves refused to settle until Nik was safely out and back in her arms. The moment he appeared and climbed to his feet, Mia ran and threw herself into his arms, nearly knocking him off-balance.

Their mouths crashed together, desperate and grateful, and they kissed hard, unable to get enough of each other. Ryland whistled under his breath and they finally broke apart.

“Damn, you two.” Inda fanned her face. “Keep that up and you’re going to melt the snow.”

“We aren’t outta this yet,” Ryland reminded them, then called Pharaoh on his earpiece.

“Yeah, this mountain is going down,” Nik said darkly. “We need to get the fuck off it now.”

In the distance, Mia spotted two helicopters hovering in the air. Once Ryland reported their location, the helicopters turned and zoomed over. Unable to land, they maintained their position directly above the group, the huge rotors kicking up whirls of ice and snow. Rope ladders descended from each helo and Nik grabbed Mia’s hips, helping her up onto the first rung.

“I’m right behind you, Kotyonok,” he assured her. “Climb!”

Before her brain could register what was happening, she and Nik climbed straight up into the helicopter while Ryland and Inda went into the other one. Once securely inside, Nik pulled her down onto a seat, right on his lap, and held her so tightly, she almost couldn’t breathe.

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